1. Technical Field
The invention relates to bookmarks. More particularly, the invention relates to personalized bookmarks. Specifically, the invention relates to bookmarks which are aromatic or are formed with a photograph pocket for receiving a photograph.
2. Background Information
Reading has been a popular pastime for many years, and as the number of available books and magazines increases, the popularity of reading as a pastime is expected to increase. In fact, it has been said that there is a book or magazine available for nearly every imaginable topic, interest or hobby. Moreover, knowledge increasingly defines a persons level of success, and as such, individuals frequently engage in self education to increase their marketability.
The number of individuals enrolled in formal classes, at colleges, universities and trade schools is also increasing as the business and professional world continues to demand an increasing number of educated professionals in the work force.
Regardless of whether an individual is reading for professional, scholastic or personal reasons, the individual will normally stop reading prior to a book's conclusion and will return to the book at a later point in time. The user inevitably marks the page where he or she stopped reading so that the user need only open the book to the marked page and begin reading exactly where he or she previously stopped.
Although a significant number of individuals turn down the corner of one page to mark the book, or alternatively merely use a scrap of paper to mark the page, many individuals, and specifically those individuals that are avid readers, purchase bookmarks to fulfill this function. Bookmarks may have a variety of sizes and configurations, but generally are manufactured of thin pliable material, and are significantly longer than they are wide to assure that a portion thereof protrudes from the top of the book in which it is positioned. Bookmarks of this type are generally manufactured of thin pliable material to assure that insertion of the bookmark does not damage the book's spine when placed adjacent thereto.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,282,939 shows a picture holder which can function as a bookmark. The holder of this patent includes a body manufactured of a pair of thin pliable sheets, and a picture frame attached to the body at the top and bottom thereof for receiving a photograph. However, this holder includes end members for attaching the top and bottom of the holder to the edges of the pages of a book and thus must be sized for use with a particular size book to perform satisfactory. The user may personalize the bookmark by placing a photograph of a loved one in the picture frame. While the holder of this patent is presumably adequate for the purpose for which it was intended, inasmuch as it has open sides, it is possible that the enclosed photograph would not stay interposed between the picture frame and the holder body. Moreover, inasmuch as the picture frame increases the width of the bookmark, its use is potentially damaging to the book's spine.
Another problem faced by avid readers, is the odor of paper and glue associated with books, and specifically with books that have remained closed for significant periods of time.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,465,232 discloses an adornment having a pocket formed therein for receiving a scented element, which is preferably a scent saturated pellet or a scent filled capsule. The device of this patent also has an adhesive surface on the back of the adornment for securing to a piece of cloth or paper. While the device of this patent is presumably adequate for the purpose for which it is intended, it is not a bookmark, and when applied thereto, would substantially increase the overall width of the bookmark such that damage to the book's spine would likely result when inserted therein. Moreover, inasmuch as this prior art adornment includes an adhesive back, it itself would not function well as a bookmark as damage may result to the book, and the adornment itself is of a relatively small size.
Therefore, the need exists for a bookmark which may be personalized by securing a photograph therein, and which may include separately or with the photograph a scented section for receiving aromatic liquid or potpourri to mask the odors associated with glue and paper within books and to provide a pleasing fragrance to the reader, such that the photograph and/or aromatic material may be affixed within the bookmark without substantially increasing the bookmark width to assure that use of the bookmark will not unduly damage the spine of the book in which it is placed.